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If someone is arrested for failure to appear, but not made…

Customer Question

If someone is arrested...

If someone is arrested for failure to appear, but not made aware of the court date, why would they be held without bond for 6 days now and counting? The court date was supposed to be April 2017. When he called the circuit clerk's office, they tell him "they lost it", "it" being the evidence. Stated that they weren't going to do anything with his case, just check back with them in September. Person I'm asking for lives in Alabama, but was working in ohio when indited, October 23 2017 and had not been notified of the indictment or court date?

Lawyer's Assistant: What state is this in? And do you have a reliable court contact?

Alabama.

Lawyer's Assistant: Has anything been filed or reported?

I don't know how reliable they are. I can't get an answer out of the clerk's office

Lawyer's Assistant: Anything else you want the lawyer to know before I connect you?

I was hoping to hear from you before I responded to the question, because whether he's being held in Ohio or in Alabama makes a difference in the answer.

In both cases they are holding him because a warrant, by definition, means he is a fugitive from justice. The authorities don't have to take his word for it that he received no notice.

If he was indicted, his case is a felony, and if he was working in Ohio when the warrant dropped on him, he probably is being held in Ohio for extradition to Alabama. If so, Ohio has no choice but to hold him. Every state will honor a sister state's fugitive warrant and hold him for a reasonable about of time, typically without bail, for the wanting state to get its paperwork together and send a team of officers to bring him back to Alabama.

Ohio has no jurisdiction to deal with the merits of the case or the merits of the warrant. If Alabama wants him, they are entitled to come get him.

How long is reasonable for extradition to be completed? Extradition will take as long as it will take. There are some general guidelines, however.

Typically, he can be held in Ohio for at least 30 days from when the defendant waives extradition and agrees to return to Alabama. That's because there's a Federal Act called the Uniform Extradition Act that says that 30 days from the signing of the waiver is a reasonable amount of time for an extradition to be completed.

States are free to make their own modifications and are not bound by the Act, but because the Federal Law says that 30 days is reasonable and Federal trumps state, there isn't much one can do about a delay until after 30 days from the waiver are up. Then, if there is no movement on the part of Alabama, the defendant's lawyer can file a writ of habeas corpus, which is an emergency remedy to get him before the judge for the state to show good cause as to why he was still being detained and, if the state couldn't, release him.

On the other hand, if he's not in Ohio but has been held for 6 days without bond in Alabama, he needs a lawyer who can get him back before the judge for a bond application. Unless the case is extremely serious, he would be entitled to have bond set in Alabama.

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The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).